Amazing Day in Great Britain

Written by Wisconsin Lutheran College student Elyse K., who is studying in the United Kingdom with WLC classmates and Dr. Martin Moldenhauer, Associate Professor of English.

We had another amazing day in Great Britain. We started our day by having an authentic English breakfast at Linhill Bed and Breakfast. A traditional breakfast (as pictured) consists of one egg over easy, two steeped tomatoes, English baked beans, one half of a sausage log, and English bacon which is thick and meaty. Additionally, there was a variety of slices of toast and freshly steeped coffee and tea. I think we could all agree that it was a delicious meal!

Next, we had class in one of our rooms. We had a discussion about the play, Antony and Cleopatra, by William Shakespeare. We also had critical interpretation on the actors, the stage, Shakespeare’s intended meaning and traditional portrayal and how the play contrasted and followed suit with the play. The play also added some clarity beyond our reading of it prior to this trip. Furthermore, this would not be a class without course work, so we were given the assignment of learning about the women in Shakespeare’s life today. In case someone has not noticed, Dr. Moldenhauer is the only male in our group, so Dr. Flint-Ferguson of Gordon College and the other seven women with me are learning through female lenses. Furthermore, there is one female author who we are specifically learning about, Beatrix Potter, and then one more female author with Shakespeare who is Virginia Woolf. I appreciate all of the authors no matter their gender, but as a woman I appreciate learning that woman can be successful themselves and not just through their husbands. In short, we had an excellent argument about the play and were eager to set out and learn more about William Shakespeare and especially the women in his life.

Since we are visiting the United Kingdom in particular for this trip, which includes Scotland and Great Britain, it is very wet. We decided that we would take the bus instead of walking. Moreover, it was an excellent idea to take the City Sight Seeing Stratford-upon-Avon Tour Bus. The bus had earbuds that gave information about which side of the bus to look out of while giving a historical account of the sights. The bus had eleven different stops but we were focusing on five. I think that making it to three different stops was effective in our time frame since we were able to take our time and did not have to rush through any of the sites. In close, I will give more in-depth details about the different stops;

First, we went to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. It is called that because William Shakespeare never lived in Anne Hathaway’s parents’ home. I did learn that he courted her at her parents’ house and she was eight years older than him. Shakespeare was only 18 years old when he married Hathaway, which is very uncommon because he was not yet established. Furthermore, their first child, Susanna, was born six short months later. Unfortunately, not much is known about Hathaway or Mrs. Shakespeare, but I learned about her family and she is famous because of her husband. Most of the information known about her is from legal documents with her husband. He left her in the will the second-best bed in their home. The marriage bed was the second-best bed because the first best bed was for guest to use when they would come over to stay in order to show off their wealth. Apparently, beds were the most expensive furniture.

Secondly, we went to Mary Arden’s Farm. There we learned about how independent and responsible Shakespeare’s mother was. She was the youngest of eight daughters and she inherited her father’s farm and also distributed her father’s will. Additionally, Arden chose to marry John Shakespeare, who was one of her tenants, Richard Shakespeare’s, son. Therefore, she may have known John Shakespeare during her childhood and she did a great job picking a respectable man to marry since her father died in 1556 and was married in the next year. At the farm, we were able to look at more of the structural foundation of the buildings. There were also many animals and people dressed up and working like it was during Shakespeare’s time. We also learned about the Eagle Owl and how it was used to hunt food for the family during that time period. In short, I learned about Mary Arden and learned about how she would have lived during her time period. On a side note, I am glad that I am a woman since the girls would sleep on some sort of pad while the boys would sleep on the floor. In addition, I learned that a woman who was not married would be left on the shelf, meaning that she would remain sleeping at the parents’ house until she was married. I do not want to be left on the shelf.

Thirdly, we went to Shakespeare’s birthplace. I learned that beds were so valuable that William Shakespeare was not born in a bed, nor were other people during that time period. Dr. Moldenhauer informed us that we need to know when William Shakespeare was born and when he died, so I think that it is fitting that everyone reading this needs to be enlightened with us. He was born on 23 April 1564 and died on his 52nd birthday which was 23 April 1616. In case anyone is wondering in the United Kingdom it is written by date, month, and year, so 08/06/2017 is 8 June 2017, which is today. In close, I learned​ about Shakespeare’s upbringing.

I learned a great deal about William Shakespeare and his family, especially the women in his life. There is much more than one man or one author, because it is a person’s upbringing and support around the individual that shapes the person. For example, Shakespeare was supported by his wife as she took care of the children while he went to London to act and write plays and sonnets. He had love in his life that inspired the love in his writings.

Overall, I learned more than I could type. Dr. Moldenhauer noted that the three most intelligent men to ever live were William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, and Martin Luther. More to think about is behind every great man there is a great woman, but many people do not know their stories. I hope that more people will be known for the imprint that they have on the world rather than the imprint that they make on the world due to either gender.